Bale tie buckle



17, 1936. H. K. MILNER 2,034,523

BALE TIE BUCKLE Filed Jan. 9, 1953 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 17, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,034,523 BALE TIE BUCKLE Henry Key Milner, Birmingham, Ala. Application January 9, 1933, Serial No. 650,819

8 Claims. (Cl. 24-23) My invention relates to bale tie buckles, and more particularly to buckles suitable to be used on ties for high density bales of cotton and the like, where the expansive forces of the highly compressed material subject the ties and buckles to heavy strains which tend to break the ordinary buckle, or to cause the tie to break or slip.

It has long been known that the plain continuous stamped buckle, such as was at first employed on low density or plantation bales, was the most satisfactory buckle obtainable, but when it was attempted to use such a buckle on a high density bale it was found to be unsuited because the expansive forces in such a bale were suflicient to impose a breaking strain on each tie of at least 2000 lbs. which would brwkthe ordinary tie if bent sharply about a narrow or sharp edge of a flat buckle, or, if the tie held, it would break the buckle'or slip on the buckle and ease .the bale. When such slippage occurs on any one tie of the bale, it immediately imposes an added strain on the other ties sufiicient to cause their breakage or slippage. Because of these conditions the trade was forced to abandon the old C-type buckle with the side opening and also the flat stamped buckle and to utilize a buckle formed of very heavy wire stock which would provide a large and rounded end bearing for the tie with the free ends of the wire set to bite into the tie at one end of the buckleto prevent if possible slippage thereof.

provement on the wire buckle in that its frame being continuous andunbroken it will be stronger and by deflecting portions of the buckle body I form rigid offset tie bearings which provide for a more extensive and positive engagement between the tie and buckle ends so that any slippage of the tie is-definitely eliminated.

My-improved buckle and its method of manufacture may be understood more clearly by reference to the accompanying drawing which forms apart of this specification, and in which:-

Fig. 1' illustrates the buckle blank after the punching-operation and before the forming operaHOH";

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view on the lineII--II 'Of Fig; 1:

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view enlarged taken on the same plane as II-II, showing the form-' ing operation and the manner in which the end tongues arebent up to provide enlarged rigid tie bearing seats.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the finished buckle showing the tie in dotted lines.

Y Fig. -5 is across sectional view taken through the buckle in service showing the tie ends in elevation, the bale and tie being broken away.

7 Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

In the practice of my invention I prefer to form the buckles from steel strip stock preferably thirty carbon and thirteen gauge but I do not desire to be limited to this particular material though I consider same as the preferable flat stock from which to produce my improved high densitycotton bale tie buckles.

From such selected metal stock the buckle blank I0 is out and punched as shown in Fig. 1, to form the continuous buckle frame having sides II and I2 and ends l3 and I l. The punch-out preferably removes the rectangular center of the buckle blank andis of such character as to provide at each corner thereof a fillet l5 and between these fillets at each end is left a narrow ear l6 joined to the ends l3 and I4 of the buckle body spaced about one-eighth inch at its ends from the sides H and I 2 of the buckle. These.30 rounded fillets between the ears and the sides of the buckle are desirable as they will reduce the tendency of the buckle stock to tear out at the corners when subjected to the full strain of ties holding high density bales. The high density 3.5 baleties must be designed to stand a breaking strain well in excess of 2000 pounds, and if this stresswe're' to come on an ear defined merely by side slits in the buckle stock, the latter would tend to tear out at the corners.

Having thus punched out the blank, it is next subjected to the forming operation in which a female die llreceives the blank anda male die 18 engages each ear I 6 and bends the whole ear into a plane substantially normal to the plane of the buckle; The ears as thus deflected present one or more sharp edges, such as! 9, 20 to be engaged by the b'ale'tie end that is bent sharply aboutthem so as'to grip it in a manner to positively prevent slippage. At'the same time the corners 2| of the blank are deflected substantially the same distance fromthe plane of the buckle as are the ears 16.

In thus forming. the buckle it will be apparent from Fig. 3 that the ears IE will thus provide rigid offset seats substantially normal to the buckle and adapted to merge with a convex arc into the outer plane of the adjacent end face l3 or M which will lie tangent thereto. It will also be apparent that each ear as a whole is bent directly from its line of junction with the end wall I3 or M that bears it. These end walls are at least %th of an inch wide and the ear itself is narrow, being preferably about %nd of an inch measured inwardly from the outer ends of the fillets. These measurements are not critical but are those that have produced an eminently satisfactory product.

The buckle thus formed is applied to a tie or band 22, as shown in Fig. 5, where one end 23 of the tie is first passed inwardly through the buckle and its end '23 bent back under to secure the buckle to the tie. The other end 24 of the tie is then bent at right angles inwardly and is inserted through the buckle and is then grasped and drawn down to take up the slack in the tie and set it to position on the bale 25 before it is released from pressure in the high density compress.

When the bale is released, the expansion of the cotton applies great tension to the ties. This pull is exerted on the buckle ends to force them inwardly against the bale; it is then applied, in the plane of the buckle, to the seat formed by the bent over ear; and finally it is exerted as an outward pull against a biting edge at the free end of the tongues in the effort to cause the tie to slip on the buckles. It will be at once apparent that the transverse edges 19 and 20 are so pressed against the bent tie end that passes under them that they bite into metal for the major portion of the width of the tie, which provides a positive grip that will hold the tie equally at both ends of the buckle against slippage.

Though the ear is short, when bent it affords a curved bearing struck on a sufiiciently large radius to avoid producing any sharp bend in the tie in the plane of its pull and thus I provide even a greater smooth rounded bearing surface to receive the pull than is afforded by the bent wire buckle.

By bending the narrow ears directly outwardly from their line of junction with the buckle ends, and forming these ears of stock having the full strength of the buckle body stock without being weakened or otherwise designed or adapted to yield under strain from the bale tie, I avoid any tendency of the strain on the free end of the ear to pull up the ear or buckle end or tear the ear out.

The buckle corners are bent only enough to avoid injury to the operators hands and do not project beyond the plane of the bent ears, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 4.

In its broadest aspect my invention contemplates punching out the center of the buckle blank and deforming the opposite ends of the punch-out so as to provide there sufficiently widened rigid and inflexible seats to receive the bale tie loops and to prevent so abrupt a bend in the tie as to cause it to break under stresses from the high density bale. As stated, this object is best accomplished by bending over a short ear extending across the inner edge of each end of the buckle so as to provide a seat having a rounded outer edge and an abrupt or sharpened inner edge, the outer edge of the seat being disposed away from the bale and in position to receive directly the strain of the tie which comes in the plane of the buckle. This rounded outer edge of the seat can be struck on a radius fully as large as, if not larger than, can be obtained from the wire used in the present high density wire bale buckles and as all of the stock in the buckle ends will lie close to the plane of pull of the tie it provides a disposition of metal best suited to resist the stresses on the buckle.

Further, by leaving an inner edge of the tie seats adjacent to the bale sharp, the latter will have the free ends of the bale tie pressed against them in such manner that the tie will be held positively against slippage and this can be accomplished without imposing a strain sunicient to shear the tie stock because the pull effective at the inner edge of the buckle seats represents but a small fraction of the strain from the tie in the plane of the buckle, and further this biting edge extends across the major portion of the width of the tie.

My improved buckle makes equal provision at both ends for so engaging the tie as to prevent slippage, whereas the present bent wire buckles make provision for gripping the band only at their split ends and then by engagement of the free ends of the wire with the tie as contrasted with a biting edge on the buckle extending substantially the width of the tie.

When I refer to an ear I mean that portion of the buckle stock lying between the side cuts which separate it from the buckle stock and inwardly from a line connecting the outer adjacent ends of said cuts and it constitutes a free unweakened portion of the buckle stock joined only to the ends.

What I claim is:--

l. A high density bale tie buckle, formed from stock having within each end thereof side cuts and an intersecting cross-out which together define an ear that is joined to its respective buckle end, there being an opening in the buckle inwardly of each ear to facilitate threading the tie therethrough, said ears having the full strength of the buckle stock and being bent substantially from their junction with their respective buckle end into a plane substantially normal to the plane of the buckle to form rigid offset tie bearings.

2. A high density bale tie buckle according to claim 1, in which a fillet is provided at the outer end of each side cut, and each ear is given substantially a right angle bend about as short a radius as the stock will allow which has its axis lying in a plane normal to the buckle end and substantially intersecting the outer ends of its respective fillets.

3. A high density bale tie buckle according to claim 1, each ear being joined to the buckle sides by fillets and having its bend starting from its junction with its respective buckle end and terminating in a plane normal to the buckle to form a curved tie bearing seat struck on a radius not substantially greater than the thickness of the ear stock.

4. A high density bale tie buckle, formed from fiat stock having within each end thereof side cuts and a cross cut intersecting said side cuts close to their outer ends to define a narrow transverse ear, there being an opening in each end of the buckle inwardly of the ear therein to facilitate threading the tie therethrough, said ears as a whole having the full strength of the buckle stock and being bent bodily from their junction with their respective buckle end into a plane substantially normal to the buckle to form rigid inflexible tie seats.

5. A high density bale tie buckle according to claim 4, in which the side cuts are continuous and define an opening in the buckle that extends from seat to seat and has a dimension lengthwise of the buckle that is substantially in excess of the corresponding dimension of the unbent ears.

6. A high density bale tie buckle, comprising a buckle body with an open center and corner fillets which define ears on the end walls lying between fillets, the whole ears being bent bodily directly from their juncture with the buckle body ends into position to form curved tie bearing seats that terminate in planes disposed substantially normal to the buckle and have throughout the full buckle stock strength to hold them against deflection when under full stress from the tie.

7. A high density bale tie buckle, formed of fiat stock having within each end portion parallel side cuts terminating at their outer ends in fillets and having a cross cut joining the inner ends of the transversely aligned fillets and defining a narrow ear, said ears being bent bodily through approximately a 90 are from their transverse juncture line with the buckle ends to form offset tie bearings which have the full strength of the buckle stock and at their free ends present an edge disposed to engage a tie end and press it into the bale, the body of the buckle having an opening between the ears ample for threading a tie end therethrough.

8. A high density bale tie buckle, comprising a continuous frame having at each end an opening with corner fillets and a transverse ear lying between the transversely aligned fillets, the ears having the full strength of the buckle stock throughout, their transverse dimension approximating the width of the tie stock and their lengthwise dimension being substantially that required to permit the whole ear to be readily bent bodily into a plane normal to the plane of the buckle.

HENRY KEY MILNER. 

